ASSIGNMENT: watch the documentary entitled, Enron
Brief Overview of the Movie:
Enron, The Smartest Guys in the Room tells the inside story of the spectacular rise and fall of one of the most scandal-ridden corporations in American history. Based on the best-selling book of the same name, this film takes a look at the collapse of the once seventh-largest company in the United States, where executives misappropriated billions of dollars, leaving investors scrambling and ruining the life-savings of thousands of employees.
Through insider accounts and corporate recordings, the documentary follows the birth of Enron in 1985 to its zenith in 2000, becoming the largest natural gas merchant in North
America. Its rise is plagued by unethical and underhanded business practices, including profiteering on the California energy crisis at the expense of the public. The company’s collapse is heralded by the extravagant and outrageous spending of its top executives, who leave the company and its employees in a sinking ship. Two different sources (you may find another, if you like)
https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=enron+the+smartiest+guy+in+the+room&fr=srp-dd-share&fr2=p:s,v:w,m:KgMoviesYKC,ct:copy-link
The Enron Scandal Questions
Who were the main leaders in this documentary and what role/position did they hold in the company. Who were the accountant?
Some of the accounting firms were making $1 million per week. Do you think they knew about the frankness? explain your answer
Contrast Enron’s code of ethics with the events that unfolded. Did the code of ethics have any influence on the day-to-day operations? If not, what is the point of having this document?
There are several people in the film who had positions of power within Enron but allowed the deception to continue. Of everyone, who do you think was most at fault for the Enron scandal? Why do you think it was able to grow as large as it did?
In 2001, when Enron filed for bankruptcy, it was the seventh largest business in the country and had $63.4 billion in assets. How is it possible that a company this large was such a scandal? Do you think there are still corporations like Enron today, where their finances are overblown?
What do you think about the information presented about the board of directors? Do you think they were actually innocent in the scandal?
At the end, Skilling went before Congress and claimed that the events were not actually as scandalous as they seemed, but that the problem was that the assets of Enron were tied up. Given Skilling’s history, is this believable?
Jeff Skilling was sentenced to 24 years in prison for the Enron scandal. Is this a just punishment? If not, what do you think would have been a better punishment?
Imagine that you had stock in the Enron Corporation. In 2000, the shares reached a value of $90.75 each, but by November 2001, they were worth less than a dollar. How would you feel if your finances or hopes for retirement were tied up in this?
Agree or disagree with the following statement and justify your answer: ”When investing in the stock market, there is an assumed risk. People who lost even hundreds of thousands of dollars should have assumed that risk when they invested.”
What surprised you most about this film?
The film shows the reach of destruction from the Enron scandal. Thousands of people lost money, workers in the company lost jobs, executives were sentenced to prison and other’s defamed their names and there was even suicide.
With this in mind, what are your thoughts about the role that accountants plays in corporations? On greed?
Is money the root of all evil?
What place does the pressure to succeed have in the Enron scandal?
Although many of the decisions made by Enron executives were illegal,
there were still financial decisions they made that were scandalous but technically legal. Should private companies and the stock market be more regulated to prevent this from happening or would that interfere with the main ideas of capitalism?
